Melanie and I were looking for a good coop game recently, so we decided to jump back into "Diablo 3" -- which kinda sucked at launch.

The re-balance definitely improved the gameplay, and we had a lot of fun bashing our way through it to the end. But while the loot drops and itemization were VASTLY improved, the difficulty balance felt completely broken. When we play games together we just run around and kill stuff... no min/maxing, no special strategies, we don't pay attention to character synergies, we ignore crafting, etc. The game should have been pretty difficult, but we reached the end of Act I without dying once. In fact, I don't think our health ever dipped below 100%.

We generally play on "Normal" or even "Easy" but starting in the second Act I bumped us all the way up to "Expert" and even then we only died twice. (Got stuck on some stairs in Act III, and with so many monsters around we couldn't move away.)

Some of the larger battles were fun, but the bosses were a joke. Hours of buildup and taunting, then a 20 second introduction with the camera spinning slowly around the roaring boss, then we charge forward to attack and BOOM, a second later there is loot all over the screen. Literally, ONE SECOND later... On Expert!

I think the fight against Diablo himself lasted about 10 seconds, so that was a little better. Still, very underwhelming. That said, we enjoyed playing the game despite the fact that it offered NO challenge. I guess that's a testament to the great graphics and effects, solid combat mechanics, and, to a much lesser degree, the story. (The ending cinematics were pretty damn epic.)

We wanted to play something else so we downloaded "Marvel Heroes" but my wife found that one a little overwhelming. It came down to a choice between:

"Torchlight 2" (wife thought it was a little too cartoony)

"Grim Dawn" (didn't want to get invested in a game that is still in Early Access)

"Path of Exile" (picked this one)

"Path" has been pretty fun so far! Sounds like there may be some endgame issues, but we've really enjoyed the first Act.

Before the tradeshow was known as "E3" (Electronic Entertainment Expo) it was called "CES" (Consumer Electronics Show), and it was usually the best and the worst 8 days of my year. It was a treat to see all the new titles, but it also meant 4 days of standing on my feet, twice a year, showing off whatever new game we were working on, or had just released.

I don't remember what year it happened, but on the final day of the show a short man and his wife stopped by to see the booth. I noticed that he was from "Microprose" but I didn't see a name on his tag and if I recall I thought he was just some marketing dude. I did sort of a half-assed demo of some game I had been working on (I was soooo tired), and then I asked the guy about his job.

He said, "I'm a game designer. My name is Sid Meier, it's nice to meet you."

It was like someone punched me in the chest. I actually stumbled a few steps backward before I re-gained my steely composure and asked, "Whatsa how -- Sid Ma-- hammana hammana..."

I honestly don't remember what happened after that, but I recall that he sort of wandered off looking a little bewildered. Always nice to make an ass of yourself in front of one of your idols. <sigh>

This weekend I got a personal insight into the psychology behind the crowdfunding craze.

My wife and I were big fans of a show called "Three Sheets" from the new defunct MOJO HD network. If you haven't seen it, the comedic host of the show (Zane Lamprey) travels around the world engaging in local drinking customs and traditions. It's fun, funny, and even kind of educational. We loved it! (There are some free episodes on YouTube, but the video quality is pretty bad. You can buy streaming episodes on Amazon, if you like the show.)

Anyway, this weekend I heard about a new show from the same folks called "Chug" and they had a Kickstarter page! My initial reaction was, "Yes! I want to support those guys -- I'll pitch in $25.00 or so." But when I followed the link I discovered that the campaign ran last year, the show got funded, and the episodes are now available on-line... for $2.99 each. "Three bucks?!" I thought, "Oh, man. Screw that."

It wasn't until I was talking to my wife a few minutes later that I realized my logical fallacy. I was ready, willing and able to pay $25.00 for their Kickstarter campaign, but I didn't want to spend $2.99 to watch a completed episode of the show. In fact, I can buy every single episode of "Chug" for less than I was willing to donate on Kickstarter.